How do you reach a wider audience, have more influence, reach the people who don’t venture into art galleries or theatres? The answer is through film and the internet.

So I am making a film about plastic pollution in collaboration with Tom Cass, other film and media studies students, photography and Fine Art students, and fellow PDP students at Plymouth College of Art. I have the privilege of having a professional art project producer as mentor and advisor, Andi Higginson, who has been guiding me along the way and seeking permission for use of the beautiful location from Plymouth City Council.

The Tidal Pool, Firestone bay, Plymouth.

The film is based on my dream (nightmare) of being buried in plastic. I have become a ‘fish’ in the film, representing the entirety of life. The demise of the fish reflects the likely demise of life on this planet as a result of the impact that humans have made in this industrial/ technological era where capital is king and consumerism is lauded.

It is March and the water is cold, so I applaud my brave collaborators who did the underwater filming and played the part of the ‘fish’. They also scoured the pool for rogue pieces of plastic at the end of filming.

The wonderful Martine as the ‘fish’ and Chloe her deputy. Plastic packaging accounts for approximately 40% of total plastic production and can easily be replaced with eco-friendly alternatives.

We had a few critical onlookers, but I hope that the explanatory poster at the back of the beach allayed their fears about our motivation for tipping plastic rubbish (all carefully selected and clean) into the pool!

Tom and Martine getting ready for ‘Action!’

Some of the plastic items has words written on them, such as FOREVER, or CONVENIENT, or yellow toxic hazard symbols. I hope that these are seen in the final edit.

The ‘fish’ washed up on the beach…

Thank you to ALL concerned, including John Butler from Prestige Pools in Ivybridge who lent us the scoop nets and poles that proved invaluable for clearing the plastic. We had a great morning. I can’t wait to see the footage…